ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2019
Comparisons of the Effectiveness and Safety of Tuina, Acupuncture, Traction, and Chinese Herbs for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04674917 (Effects of Decompression on Pain, Range of Motion and Function in Patient With Acute vs Chronic Lumbar Radiculopathy), which is not on this map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Decompression on Pain, Range of Motion and Function in Patient With Acute vs Chronic Lumbar Radiculopathy
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain functional changes following spinal manipulation therapy in patients with lumbar disc herniation and chronic low back pain: a scoping review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Use of Acupuncture for Adult Health Conditions, 2013 to 2021: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of acupuncture-related therapy for migraine: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Clinical Efficacy Evaluation of Tuina Combined Medicated Oil in the Treatment of Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Trial
- The Functional and Morphological Changes of the Cervical Intervertebral Disc after Applying Lordotic Curve Controlled Traction: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Acupuncture alleviates the progression of lumbar disc herniation by regulating the autophagy level of nucleus pulposus cells through the SIRT1/Sestrin2 pathway.Histology and histopathology · 2026Article
- Tuina Inhibits Synaptic Plasticity Through the Astrocytic NDRG2/GLT-1 Pathway to Alleviate Neuropathic Pain.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Commentary: Clinical efficacy of a Chinese herbal gel plaster combined with manipulation for lumbar disc herniation: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Comparative Effects of Acupuncture Combined with Tuina versus Acupuncture Alone for Lumbar Disc Herniation.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Comparison of Acupuncture and Lumbar Traction for Lumbar Disc Herniation and Subsequent Risk of Lumbar Fusion or Discectomy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Governor Vessel-Based Acupuncture, Alone or in Combination with Other Therapies, for Acute Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Mechanosensitive Ion Channels and Neuroplasticity in Tuina Therapy: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Neural plasticity · 2026Review
- The anti-oxidation related bioactive materials for intervertebral disc degeneration regeneration and repair.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- Article
- Case Report: Spontaneous regression of extruded lumbar disc herniation following Chuzhen therapy over 3 years.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis of the Clinical Effect and Cerebral Mechanism of Tuina in Lumbar Disc Herniation: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Parallel Group Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Tuina alleviates neuropathic pain through regulate the activation of microglia and the secretion of inflammatory cytokine in spinal cord.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2024Article
- Exploring the Mechanism of Immediate Analgesia Induced by Tuina Intervention on Minor Chronic Constriction Injury in Rats Using LC-MS.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Comparative clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with manipulation and other non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation: a prospective, multi-arm, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTuina, acupuncture, traction, and Chinese herbs play an important role in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. However, the comparative effectiveness and safety of the four commonly utilized treatment modalities are still unclear.
objectiveTo compare the effectiveness and safety of the four interventions for lumbar disc herniation.
methodsRandomized controlled trials comparing any two of the four interventions in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation were identified using the following databases: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and Wanfang data, and network meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0.
resultsOne hundred and twenty-one studies involving a total of 13075 patients were included. In all the outcome measurements, traction demonstrated a worst effectiveness, and Tuina and acupuncture demonstrated a best effectiveness, but no significant differences were found between Tuina and acupuncture. Compared with Tuina or acupuncture, Chinese herbs showed a similar effectiveness in Visual Analogue Score and Japanese Orthopedic Association Scores, but an inferior effectiveness in invalid rate and cure rate.
conclusionsIn the treatment of lumbar disc herniation, Tuina and acupuncture were superior to traction or Chinese herbs, and the effectiveness of traction was the worst. However, considering the limitations of this review, more high-quality trials, especially those comparing Chinese herbs with the other three interventions, should be carried out in the future to further confirm the current findings.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.